Congo's government won't negotiate unless rebels leave Goma
The Congolese President met with the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels for the first time since they seized the city of Goma, about a week ago. The rebels have shown no sign of leaving the city, and plan to march on others.
Congolese M23 rebel soldiers are seen on the road to Rushuru near Buhumba some 16 miles north of Goma, Thursday. Rebel spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama vowed Thursday that the fighters would press forward toward seizing the strategic eastern town of Bukavu, which would mark the biggest gain in rebel territory in nearly a decade if it were to fall.
Jerome Delay/AP
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
聽said on Sunday it would not negotiate with M23 rebels in the east until they pulled out of the city of聽, but a rebel spokesman said聽聽was in no position to set conditions on peace talks.
Congolese President聽聽met with M23 for the first time on Saturday after an urgent summit in聽聽where regional leaders gave M23 two days to leave聽, which the rebels seized six days ago after U.N.-backed government troops melted away.
Eight months into a rebellion that U.N. experts say is backed by neighbouring聽, the rebels have so far shown no sign of quitting the lakeside city of one million people.
The rebels say they plan to march on other cities in the east, and then strike out across the country to the capital聽, across 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of dense jungle with few roads, a daunting feat achieved 15 years ago by Kabila's father.
, a spokesman for M23's political arm, welcomed the meeting with Kabila but questioned the government's resolve to end a crisis that risks engulfing the region.
"Why put conditions on talks? You pose conditions when you are in a position of strength. Is the government really in such a position?" Kabasha told Reuters in聽, which sits on the north shore of Lake Kivu 补迟听's eastern border with聽.
Vianney Kazarama, the rebels' military spokesman, said government forces that had been reinforcing along the shores of the lake were now deploying in hills around the rebel held town of Sake and government-held Minova, both聽's west.
A U.N. source in Minova said government soldiers had gone on a looting spree for a second straight night there. The town was calm on Sunday but gunshots rang out overnight, the source said.
"What is real is that the morale of the troops is very low. They've lost hope in the commanders," the U.N. source said.
罢丑别听聽has vowed to launch counter-offensives and win back lost territory. The rebels have warned the government against embarking on a "new military adventure".
So far, the unruly and poorly-led army has been little match for the rebels, despite assistance from a U.N. peacekeeping mission that deployed attack helicopters to support the government before聽听蹿别濒濒.
Rebel leaders share ethnic ties with the Tutsi leadership of聽, a small but militarily capable neighbour that intervened often in聽聽in the 18 years since Hutu perpetrators of聽's genocide took shelter there.聽聽has repeatedly denied Congolese and U.N. accusations it is behind M23.
厂补迟耻谤诲补测'蝉听聽summit called on the rebels to abandon their aim of toppling the government and proposed that government troops be redeployed inside聽.
The rebels have not explicitly rejected or accepted the proposals. They are, however, unlikely to cede control of the city or accept government soldiers inside it.聽
WITHDRAW
Regional and international leaders are trying to halt the latest bout of violence in聽, where millions have died of hunger and disease in nearly two decades of fighting fuelled by local and regional politics, ethnic rifts and competition for reserves of gold, tin and coltan.
"Negotiations will start after the (M23) withdrawal from聽,"听听蝉辫辞办别蝉尘补苍听听蝉补颈诲.
Kabila was still in the Ugandan capital on Sunday morning but was expected to return to聽聽later in the day or on Monday, two聽聽sources said. Kabila's communications chief聽聽said he did not believe official talks would start in the next few days.
奥丑颈濒别听聽is on the back foot, analysts are sceptical the rebels can make good on their threat to march on聽聽without major support from foreign backers.
The regional leaders' plan proposed deploying a joint force 补迟听聽comprising of a company of neutral African troops, a company of the聽聽(FARDC) and a company of the M23.
In a statement, the聽听蝉补颈诲听聽would take command of the neutral force and th补迟听聽had offered "substantial" logistical and financial contributions towards it. 罢丑别听聽plan did not say what the consequences would be if the rebels did not comply.